CNG car owners throng gas stations for exemption stickers

CNG stations across the city on Tuesday were jam-packed with vehicle owners queuing up for exemption stickers to drive on roads on all days ahead of the Delhi government's odd-even numbered car restriction from January 1.

CNG vehicles are exempted from the fortnight-long experimental odd-even scheme that will allow odd numbered private cars to run only on odd-numbered dates and even numbered private cars on even-numbered dates.

A number of CNG stations IANS visited buzzed with activity as CNG car users lined up.

Car owners IANS spoke to complained of a longer wait than usual, but also felt happy that they were part of an effort to provide clean air to Delhi.

"I have been in the queue for at least 20 minutes now, but I am satisfied that I am contributing to keeping the air clean having bought a CNG car. However, if the government wants more people to take up CNG, there is a need to have more CNG stations," Hemant Kumar, 30, an IT professional told IANS at the Indraprastha gas station.

These hologrammed stickers are available at Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) stations that are the sole provider of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) in and around the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR).

Nearly 8,00,000 CNG vehicles in Delhi NCR will need "CNG stickers" that are non-transferable.

IGL has 325 stations in Delhi NCR, out of which 311 are operational and 14 other stations await their statutory clearance, according to IGL's website. In Delhi alone, there are 95 gas stations.

Amandeep, IGL spokesperson, told IANS: "The distribution of stickers will continue round-the-clock. Till now, there has been no problem other than a long wait."

A vehicle owner will have to present the gas station officials with a copy of their vehicle's registration certificate and CNG fitness document for the issue of a sticker.

"This is the first day of issuance of stickers, so, we have to wait a little longer. But once I have the sticker, I don't have a problem during the odd-even scheme implementation," Dilbagh Singh, a retired army personnel and a resident of Mayur Vihar in east Delhi, told IANS.

The Delhi government's odd-even scheme exempts CNG-run cars, provided they have the special CNG stickers, public buses, CNG autos, two-wheelers, women drivers, and VIP vehicles, among others.